Together We can Make Something Beautiful
by Serina Elric
Summary: It's been four years since Pitch was last seen and since Jack became a guardian and Jamie is fourteen and going to high school. There's a new girl in town the same age as Jamie that moved there from Florida along with a massive garden that she moved into her room. Despite being 14 and never seeing the guardians before this girls still believes in Jack. She is more than she seems.
1. Believers

The snow was laying evenly on Jamie's yard that morning as it always was and he was curled beneath the warmth of his covers, sound asleep. As regular as clockwork, at exactly 7 o'clock Jamie was awakened by the sound of snow balls being pelted against his window. His eyes snapped open with a start but they smiled when they saw the snow set on the window sill. He jumped out of bed and looked out the window to see Jack waving at him with a smile from his spot standing on the fence. "Jamie, are you up?" Jamie's mother called. "Yeah!" Jamie replied stepping away from the window to grab his winter clothes. "Oh good, I was worried you were going to be late for your first day of high school!"

That's right, it had been four years since Jack became a guardian and Jamie was now 14 and entering the jungle that is high school. Jamie had his books and was putting on a warm jacket to make his way through the snow to get to school. Jamie had been looking forward to high school despite the stories he'd heard about how difficult the classes were and had asked Jack postpone the snow day for next week. Jamie raced down the stairs and quickly grabbed a piece of toast and smothered some jam on it before bursting through the door and jumping over the steps, causing him to slide across the ice and snow to the gate leading to the streets. Jack walked along the fences talking to Jamie as they neared the school. "So what is high school like?" He asked since he never had the chance to attend because it hadn't been created 300 years ago. "From what I've heard it's a lot of hard work and studying, and if we don't do well we can't get into a good college." Jamie answered. "Ew, sounds boring. Why did you ask me to postpone the snow day if it's that bad?" Jack quarried. "Because they say the first week of school is when we have no homework and it's all about meeting the other kids in your class. I hear there's a family that just moved here so there's going to be a new kid." Jamie answered. "Well that doesn't sound too bad."

Jamie got to the steps of the high school and waved to Jack saying he'd see him after school. It took only moments for Jamie to find some other students that were in his homeroom class and become friends with them. Just as they were all settling down their teacher entered to room along with the new student. It was a girl with curled dark brown hair, and a distinct beauty mark under her right eye and she smiled at the students around her with shining teeth and a wide grin. She just been given a tour of the school and was assigned to a seat by the window and was already fitting in. Jamie sat behind the girl and was the first one she greeted. She was of high spirits and had an optimistic attitude that Jamie liked very much. She had a joyfulness about her that reminded him of Jack and the guardians.

The day went along and each class was somewhat enjoyable, the trouble was getting from room to room since they transferred classes hourly. They had the usual classes: science, history, English, languages, physical education, and a study hall period. For their final class, every student was allowed to pick from a number of electives. They ranged for art to filming and from dance to home economics. Jamie, being one with a vivid and open imagination took up art. The new student on the other hand had a fond ness for flowers and took up the gardening class that tied in with making beautiful floral arrangements.

During their study hall period, Jamie joined the new student and a group of other kids in the library. Almost all the kids were studying for their extracurricular classes. Jamie had book on how to draw in hand to get him started. The girl in the meantime was reading a book on the language of flowers. Jack knew it wasn't long before Jamie would be released from school and found the window to the library to look in at Jamie. He tapped his staff against the glass to get Jamie's attention and in turn caused the windows to frost over. Jack wiped away the frost and found himself eye to eye with the new girl gazing at him from across the library. For a moment Jack thought it was just a coincidence that she was looking in his direction that was until he saw her jaw drop slightly.

She could see him?! How? She hadn't been one of the children here four years ago when he and the guardians had come to the world's rescue when Pitch was terrorizing everyone. If she believed in Jack now when she had grown and was in high school how come she hadn't believed in him four years ago when she was a ten year old like Jamie?

Jamie realized where his new friend was looking before she rubbed her eyes and looked back up seeing Jack was still there with a slightly quizzical smile on his face. Jamie tapped her on the shoulder; receiving her full attention he mouthed 'Can you see him?' She nodded with a slight smile glad to know that her vivid imagination wasn't slowly turning to insanity. Jamie smiled widely at the fact that he had found someone else who believed even at the age of 14. Most of the children naturally grew out of their belief in the guardians that is except for Jamie who was closer to Jack that than the other children ever had been.

The school bell rang and Jamie was leading his new friend out onto the snowy by the hand before she had time to button up her bright red coat. Jack was sitting on the short wall around the school when he saw Jamie and the girl running towards him with her stopping to button her last button. "I told you that you weren't seeing things. This is Jack. Jack Frost." Jamie said introducing his icy entity friend. "Hey there, I hear you're new in town. I hope you like a lot of snow." Jack said with a bright grin as he stood and leaned against his staff. "I do actually the winter brings a lot of rare snow flowers that I have never had a chance to see before moving here." She stated with a shining grin unlike any Jack had seen. "Wow, I heard a lot of legends and rumors but I never thought I'd actually get the chance to see you!" She continued. Jack chuckled slightly and started again. "So what's your name?"

"Claire Forest."


	2. Beautiful?

Claire Forest became a close friend of Jack and Jamie's within the day and they learned about her just as quickly. She invited them to her house the next week, supposedly to study, seeing as both Jamie and Claire's parents had encouraged them to meet some new friends and the two boys wanted to learn more about this new believer. Claire had just moved from Florida and was quickly found to be a flower admirer. Her room was kept at an abnormally warm temperature and Jack found that he couldn't get too close to her room without feeling light headed and feverish; to top it off the snow on the roof above it melted as soon as it made contact. There was a rhyme and reason to all this of course.

Claire had lined the inside of her room with flower beds containing warm weather flowers that she had brought with her from Florida such as orchids, birds of paradise, daisies, bleeding hearts, lilies, roses ,which were Claire's favorites, and a single sunflower that stood tall in the corner. There was one part of Claire's room that was accessible to Jack. Just outside her window was a planter that was nailed to her window sill that contained winter flowers such as lavender, snowdrops and winter roses which looked like little white tear drops that bowed at the base of the bud. They weren't nearly as beautiful as the brightly colored flowers on the other side of the glass but they were a nice addition to the scenery.

In turn, Claire learned a lot about Jamie and Jack and how they met. They told her about the guardians and how Jack had helped save all the children four years ago. It turned out that this event was something that Claire was familiar with. "I remember that during Easter four years ago I was feeling incredibly depressed because I had an empty basket. I was losing faith and everything seemed dark and hopeless. Then after I went back to sleep I had a dream that restored all my hope. I promised myself I would always believe in my dreams and the hope, wonder and memories they brought me." Now they knew why Claire still believed. She knew how fearful a world without memories, hope, wonder, dreams and fun could be and that's what kept her belief and her heart. "How would you like to meet the guardians sometime?" Jack offered. He knew the guardians would appreciate knowing that they had one more child who would never stop believing. Claire's face lit up with the rays of the sun passing through the cold early winter air. "You mean it, Jack!?" "Of course he means it. Jack may play pranks now and then but he keeps his promises." Jamie said speaking from experience. Claire leapt from her place on that snow steps on her back porch and slipped on the ice succeeding in falling into Jack's arms and hugging him around the neck in thanks. All three of them laughed and Claire continued. "I'd love to meet them. Thank you, Jack." Claire gave Jack one more gesture of thanks by kissing him quickly on the cheek. Jamie and Claire both laughed as they saw Jack's face turn a light shade of pink. She was like Tooth in the way that she was energetic and had a straightforward behavior that Jack was used to and warmly accepted with a smile.

Unfortunately, the winter season came more quickly than the three companions had anticipated along with the Christmas. This meant a lot of work for Jack and for North. Jack was out and about during this time of year and his friends didn't see much of him. "He should be back soon." Jamie began. "Come on I know where we can meet up with him." Claire followed Jamie into the woods where the wind blew stronger and colder than anywhere else. After walking through the trees for about twenty minutes the two of them arrived at the lake that Jack had fallen into 304 years ago and became who he was today. Claire found the view absolutely enchanting and laughed in delight. "This place is beautiful. Is this where Jack lives?" "You could say that." Jamie responded. Just then, a cold breeze blew in from overhead and the two of them looked up to see Jack coming in for landing. "Hey guys. You been waiting long?" He said as his bare feet glided across the ice and slid to the edge.

Jack told Claire about his talk with North and the guardians about her meeting them and said it would have to wait until Christmas. "Wait, you don't mean Christmas day do you?" Claire questioned. "Yeah, Jamie knows what I mean right?" Jack said looking from Claire to the boy. "Do I ever. Every year for the past 4 years Jack and the Sandman have picked up Sophie and me around midnight and they take me to the North Pole to have a Christmas party with the guardians. They always get us home before our parents wake up so there's no worry." "It sounds amazing. I can't wait for Christmas. This reminds me, I'll have to get you both a present." The boys found this surprising seeing as they had only known this girl for a few weeks and she was already thinking about giving them gifts. Claire giggled at their expressions and knew what they were thinking. "Oh come on I can't just be you friend and not have you expect a Christmas gift from me." The two of them smiled and expressed they're thanks and Claire began again. "I'll have to give them to you early seeing as my family is going out of town but that's okay right?" The boys nodded to the sweet girl and she smiled and clapped her hands together. "Perfect. Then I'll give them to you the next Friday when we meet here again. Sound good?" Claire seemed to be the one in charge of the gathers between these three but Jack and Jamie didn't care.

Just as planned, next Friday Jamie and Jack were waiting on the lake for Claire to arrive. While Jack was teaching Jamie the basics of ice skating they saw a little red coat come up over the pure white snow carrying two little pots. "Hey guys sorry I'm late but I had to be careful and make sure these little guys didn't get damaged by the cold wind." Claire said smiling down at the small flower pots in her hands. The pots had been painted with Jack and Jamie's names in a rather basic but personal style. Jamie's was decorated with shooting stars, a checkerboard pattern, and other whimsical images. Jack's was obviously decorated with snowflakes painted in blue, silver, white and gold. This wasn't the only thing new that Claire brought with her. "Claire is your hair white?" Jack questioned. Sure enough, a large streak of Clair thick dark chocolate hair was now as white as the snow she had trudged through. "Uh huh. I have to admit you have the coolest hair I've ever seen, Jack. I was a bit jealous so I had part of it dyed sort of as a tribute. You like it?" Claire said flipping her hair flashily with a giggle. Jack and Jamie laughed in kind signaling their approval. "That's enough about my hair." Claire began and held out a pot to Jamie. "This is your gift, Jamie. It's a geranium. They bloom every day. You should keep it in a temperature ranging between 64 and 80 degrees so you should get it home soon." "Thanks Claire. I'll take it home right now. See you later, Jack."

With that Jamie, jogged quickly home keeping his fragile gift safe from the wind. "And this is for you, Jack. It's actually just part of your present. I know you can't enjoy the flowers in my room up close so I put a couple in the flower bed just outside the window. The window will open just enough so that the flowers don't freeze. This is just one of the one's I'll be planting there." Claire held up the pot for Jack to see. The little clay pot sat a small blood red rose, freshly in bloom. "Wow, Claire thanks. You know it means a lot. I haven't been able to hang around to see spring for a couple hundred years and now it's like I have my own little part of it." Jack said with a grin. "Glad I could give you another thing to be happy about." Claire said smiling brightly back with help from the rays of the sun passing through the overhanging clouds. Jack lifted a hand and his fingertips barely touched the satin petals of the rose when it caused the flower to immediately frost over.

Shock crossed their faces for a moment before Jack started rambling. "Claire, I'm sorry I didn't mean to." Jack stopped when he saw Claire smiling in awe at the frozen bud. "Jack, it's beautiful. This is a gift for the both of us now. You can make your own spring that is just as beautiful as the real thing. We made something absolutely beautiful and we could have only done it together." Jack had had always heard Jamie and the guardians describe his work as 'cool', 'wonderful', and 'fantastic'…but he'd never heard anyone call it beautiful. A warm smile spread across his face and Claire copied it perfectly. "This rose is going to be in the planter so you can look at it every day and remember that winter has its own spring. Well, it's getting late and if I don't head home soon my parents will start thinking I have a boyfriend." Claire said with a wink. Jack laughed his pale cheeks filling with color. "See ya, Jack." With that, Claire turned and ran off turning into a red dot before disappearing from sight.


	3. Faded, Frozen, and Forgetful

It was two weeks before Christmas break and it was Friday which meant that Jamie and Claire were going to meet Jack at the lake at the usual time after school. "I have to get my ice skates I left them at home. You go on ahead of me. I'll meet you and Jack at the lake later." Jamie said to Claire as he turned down the side walk in the direction of his house. "Okay, take your time." Claire responded going in the opposite direction to the forest. Since Claire didn't know her way to the lake as well as Jamie did so she used her own method. There was a small bridge in town that went over a river that led into the forest and eventually to the lake.

Claire walked along the river side fiddling with her coat's belt and taking in the new sites on this path. The river got wider as she neared the lake and a short cliff slowly rose from the ground to be about 10 feet above the cold rushing waters. Claire looked up into the bare trees that hung out over the river and saw something she didn't think she'd ever see. There on the cliff face above the water was a violet flower with delicate baby pink edges, fully in bloom. Claire had never seen a summer flower blooming this late in winter and saw this as sort of natural miracle. She just had to show it to Jack; show him that winter is not an end to spring's splendor.

Claire tightened the laces on her boots and removed her mittens before putting them in her coat pocket as she prepared to climb a tree over hanging the river that stretched just far enough for her to reach the flower on the cliff. She had little difficulty climbing up the tree but climbing out over the rushing water was a different story. Claire was far enough out on the branch to reach down but the tree had been taller than she anticipated and she would have to hang upside down to grab hold of it. She steadied herself on the out stretched limb and swung down swiftly, her hair hanging down. She leaned as far as she could towards the flower she wished to claim. It barely out of reach and all that Claire needed to do was swing her way over. With a little force and a little momentum Claire swung forward and sure enough her fingers curled around the stem and it was plucked out of the soil. "Yes!" Claire exclaimed in triumph as she gazed upon the blossom in her hands.

Claire moved to reach up and pull herself back up to the branch. She barely missed and found herself swinging again, the branch creaking with each swing. Claire reached up again but she hadn't realized that all that swinging and loosened her leg's hold on the branch. The next thing she knew Claire was falling into the icy cold water of the river, not letting go of the flower. The rushing waters pulled Claire farther and farther downstream and she struggled to swim to shore. Eventually she grabbed hold of a root that protruded out of the ground into the water and she pulled herself ashore. During her fight against the river Claire had lost her mittens and her scarf and they had been carried off somewhere.

Not being used to the freezing weather coupled with the frigid water, Claire wasn't sure what to do about feeling like she'd just stepped out of a freezer. Her first thought was to huddle down and curl up to retain her body heat. In a clearing, not far from the river, Claire found herself a spot under a tree with little snow to sit on. Her knees were pulled close to her chest and she shivered as she made an effort to keep the flower in her possession safe. Her body got colder as time passed and her movements became slower and more shaken. She eventually found she couldn't get to her feet on her own. Claire hoped and prayed that someone would find her soon. The sun descended slowly and Claire closed her feeling sleep begin to overcome her.

The next day, Jamie woke up when his mother was calling him down sounding a bit distressed. Jamie yawned and threw on his house coat before making a sleepy walk down the stairs to the kitchen. "What's the matter, Mom? It's Saturday." Jamie said with a yawn as he scratched his neck. "I just got a call from Claire's mother. She said that Claire never came home last night and that she was supposed to be spending time with you that afternoon." Jamie didn't understand what could have happened. Sure, Claire hadn't shown up at the lake yesterday but he just assumed that something had come and she couldn't make it. This made it apparent that this wasn't the case.

Claire's family had asked everyone in town to help search for her but they didn't know where to start. Jamie avoided everyone's advice to search somewhere else and went directly into the forest towards the lake. Just as Jamie had hoped, Jack was there looking for some company. Jamie called out to him in alarm instantly getting his attention. "Jamie, what's the rush; forest on fire?" Jack said with a chuckle. "Worse. Claire didn't come home last night and no one knows where she is!" Jamie said in distress as he caught his breath. "I'll start looking for her now. I'm sure she's fine." Jack said reassuring Jamie and himself. Jack rose slightly into the air saying, "Let's search the forest. I'll take a look from above. With that red coat of hers it should be no trouble finding her."

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as they thought. They searched all day and the only sign of Claire they found was her mittens washed up on the shore of the river. The people of the town feared the worst. The sun began to set and everyone retreated into their homes to begin the search the next day. "Where could she be?" Jamie asked Jack worriedly. "Don't worry so much. You just go home and rest while I search for her." Jamie was unsure about Jack's attempt to comfort him but he knew that if he could only trust one person in the entire world it be Jack. As Jamie walked home and bid Jack goodnight, Jack was waiting for him to leave his sight. When he did, Jack shot up into the air on a cool breeze and began a frantic search. He checked every area of the town that Claire could possibly be. Jamie had told him that Claire's mittens had been found on the shore of the river and so he searched up and down twice over. He found nothing…

Jack was spent. He was out of ideas, out of clues and almost out of hope; then came the familiar golden glow that hung of the town after the sun set and children's heads were resting. The Sandman was busy doing his nightly duty of bringing happy dreams to the tired children and Jack was more than happy to see his friend. "Sandman!" Jack's call wasn't surprising to the Sandman at all and he greeted the young guardian. "Hey, I need to ask you a favor." Jack's request was welcomed silently by the sandman with a smile and a nod. "Okay there's a girl whose been missing for about 2 days and we haven't seen any sign of her anywhere. If she's sleeping right now maybe we can follow the trail of sand leading to her. I'm not sure how far she is or…what condition she's in…so I'm going to need you to let out a lot more sand if we are going to find her." The Sandman's friendly face became serious very suddenly and he nodded to assure Jack of his assistance. An immense sphere of shimmering gold sand was gathering above the guardian's heads and it burst making the sky look as though it had gained a number of new stars. Most of the sand gathered in other already forming trails of sand that went into the children's rooms, but leading away from the town and toward a tightly knit group of dead trees was a thin and faint trail of sand.

"It's her!"

Jack was nothing less of a comet as he shot off from the side of the Sandman toward the dwindling glow of the string of sand. Jack descended into a frozen clearing, breaking through the brittle frozen branches. He spun around looking for his missing believer until he came upon a limp figure lying beneath one of the dark trees. Jack dashed over and kneeled next to Claire and dropped his staff to turn her over and lean her against the tree. Even to his ice cold fingers, Claire's skin sent chills up his spine as well as the blue tint of her lips. "Claire, wake up. Come on, the whole town is looking for you. We still have the Christmas Party, at the North Pole remember? You just have to open your eyes and tell me you want to go home. Please wake up." Jack said this as he shook her gently by the shoulders and brushed the snow out of her hair.

The Sandman entered the clearing silently and came to Jack's side as the thin trail of sand began to gather over Claire's head. The faint figure of Claire sitting in a circle of flowers with a smile on her face began to appear. At first the golden figure of the nearly frozen girl was simple staring down at the flower in her hand, the exact flower that was presently clenched between her frozen fingers, and then the shimmering figure raised her head and stared directly into Jack's eyes and stood with a smile. Jack was astonished when Claire's doppelganger out stretched her arms to him as though she were trying to give the gentle blossom to him as a gift. He lifted a hand to do so but the image faded into nothingness before he could accept the dreamer's gift. Jack simply kept both hands on Claire's shoulders and kept his icy eyes on her visage, expecting the end of the dream to signify that she would be waking up any minute now. The Sandman placed a hand on Jack's shoulder drawing him out of his intense gaze while shaking his head silently. Jack was speechless he didn't know what the Sandman was trying to tell him and the Sandman saw this and to help Jack understand he held out his hand and made a flower out of golden sand. That flower quickly wilted and so did any feature of hope lingering in Jack's eyes.

He stood and picked up his staff with a somber and shadowed expression on his face. The young guardian had no words. He'd only known the young girl for hardly a month; he didn't know what to say. Jack simply turned and refused to look back…despite the Sandman's incessant tugging on his hoodie. Eventually Jack gave in to the Sandman's desire for attention when he felt a warm sensation on his back. "What's so important now?" Jack snapped rather coldly. His frigid attitude melted away along with the snow underneath the now blooming tree that Claire had fallen under. Jack was speechless once again; he couldn't understand what was happening. Claire began to lift herself shakily from the ground with her hair changing from deep brown to a truly golden mimic of the sunlight; the white dye in her hair remained. The flower she had been holding that had fresh and in bloom was now wilted and colorless. She brushed aside her golden locks, revealing her eyes which matched in color, and turned her head looking about as though she didn't know where she was.

Her eyes landed on Jack and Claire's smile brightened, literally. When Claire smiled now sunlight that wasn't even existent at this time of night shone off of her face and hair. "Jack!" Claire bolted up from the ground and ran clumsily towards Jack. Every step she took caused the ground beneath her to thaw and bloom with fresh grass and small buds. A spring like heat radiated off of her and when she embraced Jack he felt sudden lightheadedness and a feverish sensation spreading through his body. Claire realized she was harming Jack and stepped away. "I'm sorry." She said simply. Jack was so awestruck he could only ask the most obvious question on his mind. "Claire…are you alright?" Claire looked confused and looked around, expecting to see someone else standing behind her. She turned back looking puzzled. "Who's Claire?"


	4. Warm Spirit

There was a trail of flowers and grass leading up to the entrance of North's workshop; all thanks to Claire. Jack had Claire brought to the North Pole with help from the Sandman who was more than happy to do so seeing as Jack was unable to fly her there himself due to the fact that she was a slight danger to him. They didn't know what had caused this change but they were sure the other guardian's or the Man in the Moon would know. Claire was utterly amazed at her surrounding yet she wasn't worried at all that she couldn't remember who she was.

Jack and the Sandman led Claire to balcony in front of the globe displaying all of the children that believed where North was waiting. "Jack, Sandman! It's good to see you both. What was reason for calling meeting?" North said in his Russian dialect. In the window space between the 2 of them North's eyes fell on the brightly lit face of Claire. "You!" North began with a smile before scooping Claire up in a bear hug. This surprised Jack a bit but Sandman didn't seem surprised at all. North continued, "It's great to finally meet you. You're warm spirit radiates off of you just like the legends say." North put her down and she simply answered along with a bright smile, "The pleasure is all mine. You're so much different than I thought. The Santa I was told about wasn't Russian but I think I like him better." "Enough formality, call me North." He replied.

"What's the emergency!? I saw Sandy and Jack's signal and came as fast as I could." That was Tooth talking as speedily and energetically as always. As she spoke she had darted to North, then Jack, then Sandy, and finally stopped at Claire. "It's the tooth fairy!" Claire said smiling widely. Tooth and here assistant tooth fairies were taken aback by Claire's amazingly sunshine bright teeth. After being dazed for a moment or two, Tooth pulled Jack over next to Claire as close as he could possibly get. "Okay both of you smiles. Go on." Claire was already smiling so Jack smiled awkwardly in compliance. Jack's pure white teeth were made even more radiant by the sunshine coming off her face. "Oh, your smile really can brighten up any day." Tooth said ecstatically, her baby tooth fairies getting just as excited. "You two make such a great looking pair. It's just a shame that you're opposites." Tooth said giving them some space. "What do you mean by 'opposites?'"

Before Tooth could answer a hole formed in the ground and an immense, gray, furry ball flew out and landed on two strong large feet. Claire stared in awe at the fluffy figure before her as he said, "Alright Frost, where's the fire?" Claire ran forward before anyone could think of what was happening and she hugged the legendary bunny around the waist. Her warmth touched him immediately and he smiled. "Glad for you to finally join the group, partner." Claire stepped away smiling. "You're an Ausi. That's awesome, but what do you mean by partner?"

It was then that the three guardians that hadn't been present for Claire's transformation knew something was up. They all turned to Jack and Sandman. "Where did you find her?" Tooth asked the both of them. Sandman began his rapid explanation in sand language and confused everyone who couldn't keep up. "Maybe you should explain to us, Jack." North said as Claire wandered off not too far to play with some of the elves. "Her name is Claire. She's the girl I was bringing to the Christmas party with Jamie this year to meet you guys." Jack said clarifying who the mysterious girl was. The faces of all the guardian's fell a bit as they glanced at the Claire who was smiling at the elves in their amusing antics. "So then she wasn't like this before?" Tooth asked looking back at Jack. "She still acts like she did before but she's changed. Her hair used to be brown and now where ever she walks it gets warm and flowers grow where ever she's been. I don't know what happened but before she changed I was almost sure she had frozen to death. I'm pretty sure she fell in the river and was wandering around trying to find her way out of the forest but just didn't make it."

Jack looked down feeling at fault for what had happened to Claire and Sandman patted Jack reassuringly on the back. "It's not your fault, Jack." Tooth said trying to get to the point of her own explanation. "It was going to happen sooner or later." Bunnymund stated to the young guardian. "What do you mean?" Jack said, unaware of the knowledge the guardians were holding back from him. "You're friend, like you, has become season spirit." North explained. Jack then remembered how he became the way he did. Before he became Jack Frost, he had fallen beneath the frozen lake and stayed there until he was drowned in the chilling waters. Claire had almost suffered the same fate but she managed to pull herself out. Jack then remembered the flower Claire had been holding onto and how after she changed it had withered and died. The flower had been her salvation and had given her a second chance.

"So who is she now?" Jack asked.

"You've heard expression people say around spring, yes?" North asked.

"'April showers bring May Flowers?'"

"That's the one." Bunnymund responded.

"That's who she is, Jack; May Flowers, the spirit of spring and summer."

After Tooth revealed Claire's new identity Jack turned to look at Claire; it made perfect sense. The job was practically made for Claire and had been destined for her even before she met Jack. He had a new responsibility now and that was to take care of Claire even if it did mean getting used to a slightly warmer temperature.

Jack turned back to the guardians and started again. "There's one other problem. She remembers all of us and she believes in us but she doesn't remember a thing about herself." That's when Tooth came forward with an enthusiastic smile. "I can help. We can just go back to back to my place, find her teeth and bring her back her memories." "Alright then let's get going." Jack replied before turning around and running over to get Claire. "Claire," Jack was cut off. "Jack, I don't know who Claire is but you can call me May." Jack paused a moment then continued. "Alright May, we are going to Tooth's place so come with me." "Really?!" Claire exclaimed grabbing Jacks hand then quickly letting go when she saw a dizzy look pass over his face. "Yeah just follow me."

Claire did as she was instructed and followed Jack to where too was waiting at the launch pad for the sleigh. "Hello May." Tooth said upon seeing her and Jack. "Hey there, Tooth Fairy." Claire said with that sunny smile Tooth liked so much. "Oh, just call me Tooth. Now are you ready to fly?" Claire stammered a bit.

"I-I don't think I can."

"Oh of course you can, honey. Just like Jack here rides on the winter winds you fly on the summer breeze."

"But it's not summer or even spring."

"You are summer and spring, dear. It follows you were ever you go.

Claire smiled at this and the Tooth Fairy took hold of Claire's hand. "Watch Jack and try to think about copying him." Claire turned to look at Jack who was standing in front of the tunnel that the sleigh normally went through and he began to hover above the ground. He shot off into the tunnel with tiny snowflakes and a cold wind trailing behind him. Jack raced through the tunnels and slid across the walls in a surfer like way, laughing as he went along. After leaving the confines of the tunnel he floated outside the exit and waited for Claire and Tooth to follow behind. Jack half expected to see Tooth slowly guiding Claire along as she struggled not to fall out of the sky. Instead Jack was taken by surprise as a warm breeze came rushing by him out of the tunnel along with a blonde figure with a red coat. Claire was laughing ecstatically as she soared across the sky flipping and spinning wherever her heart wished. Jack watched as she flew over the dark night sky as a trail of sunlight followed her forming luminescent shapes that soon faded into the blackness. Tooth was soon hovering b Jack when she stated, "She's a natural isn't she?" "If I didn't know better I'd say she was an expert." Jack responded. "Are we going or what?" Claire called from her place in the sky. Jack grinned and shot forward to join Claire in their flight to the tooth palace. He almost didn't care about the fact that he was getting dizzy.


	5. Not Seen

It took moments for them to arrive at the Tooth palace. Claire was in total awe at the wonderful sight of the beautiful place while Jack was busy helping Tooth find Claire's teeth and her memories. "What's her last name?" Tooth asked as she flitted around the large space. "Claire Forest." Jack said searching around the same area. "Oh, so that's who she is. I remember her home quite well. Always so warm a filled with pretty flowers. Here she is." Tooth swooped down from one of the higher towers carrying the small golden tube containing Claire's baby teeth. "Look she's already lost all her baby teeth yet she still believes; how sweet and loyal of her." Tooth said with a smile.

Jack grinned at the bright smile painted on the water color image of Claire with her thick brown hair and single streak of white on the end of the tube. "Cl-May, come here I have something for you." Jack called over to the now golden haired girl. Claire floated over on a warm breeze to the two guardians with a sunny smile. "What is it?" she asked. Jack handed her the golden tube, "This belongs to you."

Claire looked at it closely and examined every detail. Her eyes settled on the image displaying her former appearance with a curious gaze. "How odd she seems familiar." Claire said before turn over the tube so the blue diamond pattern was facing upward. The guardians watched as Claire's fingertips brushed lightly against the lid and it snapped open. A golden light illuminated Claire's face and made her golden eyes shine. Claire wore an expression of awed confusion as the memories of her previous life were returning to her.

As her final memories were returned to her she was shocked to see what had befallen her and in that shock she dropped the golden tooth carrier. Tooth in her speed was able to catch it before it collided with the floor. Claire was looking at her hands as though she had become some other race and was look for some abnormality. Jack approached his bewildered friend. "Claire?" She responded to her name quickly and her head rose quickly to face Jack, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Jack, what do I do?" "I know that you're thinking things are changing really fast and you want to go home and check on your family but I'm telling you now…" Before Jack could complete his thought Claire took off into the starry sky, leaving a neon trail behind her leading straight back to her home. "Claire, wait!" Jack didn't hesitate to follow after her and Tooth replaced Claire's teeth among the many others before staring sadly at the fading trail of light and the trail of snow following it.

It was a surprisingly short trip back to Claire's home and it made it easier for Jack to know her where she'd flown thanks to the rays of light that followed her. When Jack had Claire in his sights she was landing on the front porch of her house. Claire bounded inside calling to her parents. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Claire's joyful declaration was cut short when she heard her mother crying in the living room. Claire stood next to her father who hand one hand on her mother's back trying to comfort her. Her mother was clutching the gloves that Claire had lost in the river and were later found on the river side. "What was she thinking going out there all on her own?" Claire's mother said through tears. "We need to move on. Claire wouldn't have wanted up to act like this." Claire's father responded. "Mom I'm right here. Look at me! I'm fine." Claire said standing in front of her mother.

Claire's mother stood and began up the stairs with her father close behind. Claire followed them up now getting anxious. She jumped when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder but calmed herself when she turned about to face Jack. "Claire, just come with me and I'll explain everything." He said trying to stop her from finding out her fate in a more shocking way. "No Jack. I need to talk to them." Claire's determination rose and so did her temperature which made Jack release her quickly. Claire's parents had entered Claire's greenhouse room and were looking about as though they expected Claire to come out from some hiding place when in reality she was standing right in behind them. "We should keep taking care of her flowers in her memory." Her mother said finally. She walked over to the window and looked at all the winter flowers planted there before coming across the frosted rose that Claire had given to Jack only days ago.

"It seems that this flower didn't survive the cold. Roses were her favorite…" Claire mother scooped the rose out of the flower bed and made her way towards the trash can. When Claire saw where she was taking the rose she protested, "Mom, no! Not that one please!" Claire went to grab her mother's hand and take back the rose but found that her hands went right through her mother's arm like a ghosts. She was speechless as she found herself unable to stop her mother from throwing away the frosted rose and her temperature dropped as did her spirits. Jack came up behind her and placed a comforting hand on her now cool shoulder.

Not wanting to stay in the presence of her mourning parents she quickly ran down the stairs and Jack followed after retrieving the rose from the trash bin. The light that normally followed behind her was dim and cold and she looked as though she was tripping over the wind. Jack caught up to her quickly and placing a hand on her shoulder brought her back down to earth in fear that she would simply let herself fall due to her sadness. Claire had warm tears flowing down her face and was doing her best not to sob. "I'm sorry, Claire. I didn't want you to find out that way but because no one believes in you yet no one but the guardians can see you…" Jack's words weren't calming to Claire but his voice was and so she caught her breath and wiped away her tears. "What am I supposed to do, Jack?" Jack held the frosted blossom out to her and she took it gratefully and her spirits rose slightly making the area around them a comfortable temperature for them both. "It's okay. I'm here for you, Claire."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. He felt warm inside in a way that he never thought was possible and it made him happy. Claire released him and held the treasured rose close. Jack took her by the hand and the both of them rose off the ground and above the trees. "Come on, let's find your new a home."


End file.
